Sylvester Stallone arrived at the Oval Office looking like the Hollywood legend he is, cane and all, as President Donald Trump personally presented the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors on Saturday. The man who gave us Rocky and Rambo took center stage among a lineup that also included Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Kiss, and Michael Crawford.
Trump put the spotlight on Stallone right away, calling him “a friend of mine, a wonderful person, a really spectacular person, one of the true great movie stars. Sylvester ‘Sly’ Stallone. Thank you.”
Fans immediately zeroed in on Stallone’s cane. The guy is 78 and still tougher than most of us, so a little support is totally fine, right? He still looked like he might break into a boxing pose if someone played “Gonna Fly Now.”
Sylvester Stallone told Fox News Digital he can’t believe he’s getting honored at the Kennedy Center. He even joked about hesitating to accept it. “This is the ultimate… this, this is completely unexpected. This is an award that I didn’t… I didn’t see coming. I really didn’t. I wasn’t even sure if I should accept it.” He pointed at his family and said, “Look at my trophy here and my daughters.” Classic Sly. Then he compared Hollywood to real heroes. “You save lives. We pretend to save lives.” You enjoy seeing someone who’s spent decades being a legend admit he’s still surprised by life.
Trump didn’t just return to the Kennedy Center tradition, he jumped into it with both feet. Earlier awards were usually announced through a quiet press release. Not this year. “I was about 98% involved,” Trump boasted when he personally revealed the honorees back in August. A big shift from the old bipartisan committee approach. He also revamped the board of trustees, bringing in people he trusts and even taking the chairman seat himself.
After handing out the medals, Trump headed to the State Department for a dinner honoring the group. He seemed pretty energized about doing things differently, telling the room, “We’ve never had a president hosting the awards before. This is a first.” He thanked the media too, adding a playful jab that you could practically see coming. Then he aimed a few lines at Jimmy Kimmel. “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.”
The Kennedy Center tribute show, which will be attended by President Donald Trump and Sylvester Stallone, gets taped Sunday night and drops December 3 on CBS and Paramount+.
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